Kathmandu's major cultural festival, Indra Jatra, formally begins today with the ceremonial raising of a lingo (a wooden pole bearing Indra's flag ) before Kal Bhairav at Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, accompanied by traditional music and religious rites.
For the Newar community of Kathmandu Valley, this is one of the year's most significant festivals that involves a week-plus of worship, chariot processions and masked dance that turns Basantapur into the valley's cultural center stage, drawing locals, domestic tourists and foreign visitors alike.
What is Indra Jatra?
Indra Jatra is an important cultural festival of the Newar community of Kathmandu Valley, centered on worship of Indra, Bhairav, Ganesh and the living goddess Kumari, alongside chariot processions. Traditionally, chariots carrying Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav are pulled from Hanuman Dhoka through various neighbourhoods of Kathmandu. The festival features cultural performances including Lakhe dance and Pulukisi dance, the latter representing Airavata, the elephant vehicle of the god Indra.
Preparations at the World Heritage-listed Basantapur Durbar Square had reached their final stage in the days before the opening, with chariot construction, cleaning, repainting of heritage structures including Kasthamandap, Kumari Ghar and the Shiva-Parvati temple, and the replacement of red flags across the square.
Nepali communities in the United States, including in Colorado, have separately organised their own Indra Jatra (Yenya Punhi) events this year.
With the festival's formal start, special activity has picked up around Hanuman Dhoka and Basantapur, with residents and both domestic and foreign tourists gathering to observe the day's rituals and the ongoing preparations for the chariot processions and dance performances to follow over the coming days.
